Tuesday, 25 February 2014

Cost: Starters
range from £6 to £12, main courses from £14 to £24, and desserts from £6 to £14
for the cheese board. Special, traditionally Portuguese options such as a whole
suckling pig are also available for £385 to share between 8-10 people, given 3
days' notice.

About: This is
my second visit to Portal, you can see my first review here. I was keen to pay
a return visit as Portal recently appointed a new head chef, Vitor Veloso
replacing Jeronimo Abreu who was head chef on my last visit.

The restaurant
has an elegantly timeless façade of jade-green tiles on a black background. On
stepping through the front door, a spacious tapas bar area greets the eye - the
perfect spot for a dry white port and a savoury platter or two.

The restaurant
itself comes as a surprise, being invisible from the street. Set in a large
conservatory made almost entirely of glass and steel, it is surprisingly warm
and inviting, and the lush greenery surrounding makes for a beautiful setting.
The staff are mainly Portuguese, and very knowledgeable about the food and
wine.

The restaurant
is situated in the creative heart of Clerkenwell, sandwiched between the City
and Islington.

What We Ate: We
kicked off with a starter of tender, meaty scallops with ‘Farinheira’ Crumble
(pork sausage crumble), chicken broth and vegetables (£8.50) which was very beautifully
presented.

Our second starter was an open pigeon tart with caramelised onion, dried figs
and Port wine reduction (£12). This had probably the most delicious, ripe and
fragrant fig I've eaten in years, and sweetly tender caramelised onion, but was
let down by the pigeon which was somewhat tough and dry, as well as being
served cold.

Being addicted
to salt cod (bacalhau) since I was a child, the main course was an easy choice
for me - I went for the roasted Bacalhau with broccoli purée, confit potato and
garlic (£17). This was well presented and tender, but was to my palate rather
lacking in flavour concentration and seasoning. It is a cliché in Portugal that
Brazilians (with whom they share a passionate devotion to salt cod) like their
fish over-salty, but to my palate this was nevertheless a little on the bland
side.

Dr G opted for the slow cooked Bisaro (neck of pork) with mushroom purée, bok
choy, apple and raspberries (£20). The pork had been cooked sous vide for 12
hours, at 68 degrees, while marinating in white port, orange juice, rosemary
and garlic.

As an accompaniment, we had Batata a Murro (£3.50), a wholesome dish of new potatoes
roughly crushed in butter and garlic.

For dessert, we
ordered one of the restaurant’s signature dishes – the legendary Pasteis de
Nata (the quintessential Portuguese snack of burn custard in a flaky pastry
case) which were excellent, with cinnamon ice cream (£8).

We also had the
Passion Fruit Parfait with coffee, poached pear and pistachio ice cream (£7),
which was delectable and very refreshing.

What We Drank: The wine list is put together by Antonio Correia, an acclaimed
expert on Portuguese wines in London. The restaurant is said to have the
largest collection of Portuguese wine in the UK, many made from indigenous
grapes found nowhere else in the world. It is a treasure-trove.

As we arrived, for
a stunning aperitif, we opted not for our usual Manzanilla sherry, but rather
for a glass of Quinta do Portal Extra Dry White Port (£6), which was perfect
with a little dish of plain popcorn.

The wine list is very extensive, and almost exclusively Portuguese, including a
huge range of aged and vintage ports, and Madeira wines. There are some very
rare, fine wines, but also a good range of more affordable options including whites
from £24, and reds from £22.

We were very
impressed by the quality of the entry level house wines, and enjoyed with our starters
a couple of glasses of white wine from the Duoro and Dao regions.The Quinta do Portal, Frontaria Branco,
Douro, 2011 was made from the Malvasia grape (£5 per glass), had crisp acidity,
and went very nicely with the scallops.

With the pigeon
tart, we had a glass of Quinta de Saes, from the Dao region just south of Porto.
A blend of Touriga Nacional, Tinta Pinheira, Jaen and Alfrocheiro, this was a
steal at just £5.50 per glass.

With our main
courses, we had a glass of Condado das Vinhas 2012, from the Alentejo region (£5),
which was straightforward but had a good concentration of red berry fruit.

With the cod, we had a glass of Quinta do Portal DOC 2010, from the Douro
region (£4.50). I was surprised to be offered red wine with the cod, but it
worked well, being delicate enough not to overpower the meaty fish.

Likes: There are
few restaurants in London that offer serious Portuguese cuisine, and this place
offers an extensive, authentic menu. The settings of the bar and restaurant are
stylish without being flashy. The wine list is outstandingly good, lists some
excellent regional Portuguese rarities, and starts at a very reasonable price.
Service is discrete and expert.

Dislikes: At
best, the cooking is excellent, but sadly it was not entirely consistent on
this second visit.

Verdict: Portal remains a well-established fine dining
Portuguese restaurant in Clerkenwell.
The list of Portuguese wines, Ports and Madeiras is unrivalled, and the
setting is stunning. Recommended.

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